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Published: September 12th 2010
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Slow going
At any moment we are either hiking up or down, never on the level! Today we are tired. We stumbled down to breakfast and managed to eat almost every bite put before us - we are eating lots, or perhaps it is just eating late at night and then facing a large breakfast relatively early the next morning that leaves us never wanting. But we press on…
Inger recommended a hike for us today. She said that she considers it the “elderly hike.” That sounded promising since our legs are sore and we are tired. She described the route to us - hike to Busquistar and then through town and where the path goes up or down, stay level and then there will be two houses and soon a dog will bark and then you’ll know you are in the correct place and then you loop around and see “Bar Paco,” where we should have lunch. Fortunately Sepp drew a map for us.
The hike to Busquistar takes about 45 minutes. Along the way there are several springs that come out of the side of the mountain. One spring produces water that tastes like seltzer water - full of gas, and people bring bottles to fill with this special treat. I tasted it
Stone terraces
If you look closely you can see several stone walls holding terraces in place and acknowledged the gaseousness, but that was enough for me.
We passed numerous large, round, stone platforms, which are ancient threshing floors. This is where the farmers would bring their harvest and toss it in the air so that the wind would blow away the chaff and only the grain would land on the ground. Some of these have grown over with grass and weeds, but they continue to be very evident from the size and shape, and the careful placement where the wind will blow across the surface.
Everywhere there are reminders of the extensive presence the Moors had in the Alpujarras in the 15th century, after being chased out of Granada by the Christians. There are terraces up and down the mountainside - stone walls holding the flat parcels in place. The most extraordinary structures that are still used today are the irrigation troughs that come down the mountain delivering a steady supply of water to crops and orchards and animals. The Moors built these channels, and after they were chased from this area (again by the Christians), each village kept one Moorish family to teach the new comers how to maintain and use the elaborate
Donkey
Outside "Bar Paco." irrigation system, which depends on a schedule of gates being lifted and lowered to divert the stream to the desired destination.
Just before Busquistar we passed a goat shed and paddock that was packed with goats pleading to be let out for a day of grazing on the mountainside.
Somewhere after Busquistar we mis-read Sepp’s map and found ourselves on the main road (the narrow, winding, mountain road that goes to Trevelez, the highest village in Spain.) This so-called “elderly hike,” was already exhausting so the mis-turn, which resulted in a short cut back to “Bar Paco,” was a blessing!
We stopped for a cerveza and tapas and ended up being served a full lunch that had us waddling out of the bar and back towards Ferreirola. Our limited language abilities can make meal times challenging, so we decided to just see how it worked out. We both had delicious gazpacho and then Sam had pork and I had swordfish and of course every entrée seems to arrive with a serving of fries. When asked about dessert I ordered flan. Sam was surprised since I was so full, but I believe that a full meal deserves dessert,
Playing
This was an exercise park and I think these were meant for adults. and a Spanish meal calls for flan.
There is such abundance of food growing here, both cultivated and wild. While hiking we pass fig trees and chestnuts, almonds and grapes, blackberries and pears, persimmons and olives. Garden patches include onions and corn and peppers and tomatoes.
Tomorrow we hope for a day of rest. I said “if we don’t go by car then we don’t go,” but after some rest I suspect we will want to hike again. There is so much to see and walking is less stressful than driving on the narrow, winding, did-I-mention-occasionally-collapsed, roads.
I did not bring our guidebooks and I may have some spellings, facts, dates, etc. a bit “off.” For anyone reading this who is more knowledgeable regarding Spanish life and history - forgive me and feel free to correct me in the comments section.
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Janelle
non-member comment
irrigation
There are extensive descriptions of the irrigation canals and their eccentricities in the book "Driving over Lemons", I read a few months ago. Also, on the Spanish ways of farming and shepherding. It was hilarious and heart-warming. Sounds like you are in the same part of the country.